Posts filed under ‘bellyaching’
So far, so good
Friday’s surgery went well, though a little more complicated than they first thought. I’m still recovering, though, and am not sure how much I’ll be posting this week. I just wanted to say thanks for the get well wishes, and that I’m ok! I’ll probably be around Twitter and Goodreads before I get enough energy to write a complete blog post, so you can always swing by those places to say hi!
Pondering a few changes . . .
. . . and would be interested in your thoughts.
Over the last few months I have felt especially pressed for finding adequate time to post as much as I would like.
I’ve fallen down completely on my challenges, not writing a single Re-read Challenge post this year, and barely squeaking by with the others. The frustrating part about it for me is that I’ve actually read the books for the challenges—especially in the case of the Re-read Challenge (which, of course, is the most time consuming part), yet not had my act together enough to sit down and write the reviews.
I’ve also missed posting my monthly Read Books post for last month, am (barely) keeping up with my 2010 Read Books page.
Even thinking about trying to “catch up” with these posts is mighty overwhelming. And, here’s the thing: I really like tracking and reviewing my books. (Even if it’s just writing the mini-reviews.) This is one of the reasons I started blogging in the first place. I feel strongly about RBA being about what I enjoy, and wouldn’t bother with these challenges and posts if I didn’t truly want to do them.
So, I’m making an effort to figure out ways that I can post what I want to to make this a fun and interesting place for me to create, and for you to visit.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
So, I’m planning on “stepping back” from my Challenges for a little while (what was I thinking, taking on 4 of them?) and being more of a “drop in” participant.
I’m also thinking about changing how often I post my Read Books list, and going from monthly—which gets overwhelming writing mini-reviews for such a long list—to twice a month. This should pare the posts down to roughly 7-12 books, rather than the crazy long 18-25 book list.
I guess what I’m curious about is this: do shorter posts work better for readers? I know most people (including me *blush*) tend to skim posts anyway, and I could see where either length would be preferred.
Let me know what you think!
A birthday, a little Nook-ie, and some m/m food for thought
In the midst of all the holiday hustle and bustle, I celebrate my birthday. Today I turn 44. (gasp!) It’s always a little bit awkward having a Christmas birthday. Scheduling a party always feels like a bit of an imposition on people already pressed by too many holiday engagements and holiday shopping. However, I’ve come to love the feeling of going from Thanksgiving thru New Years on a sort of celebration “high”.
Yesterday, we celebrated with my family, having my usual dinner request, tamales. They are typically holiday food, and it makes it easier on everyone to keep cooking to a minimum and buy the main dish. We hung out at my sister’s house, ate like animals: tamales, carnitas, pasta, and asparagus with hollandaise—hey, the asparagus might not go with the theme, but I love it—and chocolate cake.
I got lots of Barnes and Noble gift cards, and a family member inserted a picture of a nook in with their gift card, thus blowing the surprise my guy had for me for today, my actual birthday. So, I’ll be getting a Nook! (YAY!) In February. (BOO!) They are on backorder, but honestly, just knowing one will come to my mailbox is enough for me, now.
Today, we will be having dinner at Saladang Song in Pasadena, followed by going to see New Moon at the Paseo Colorado . It’s funny, because right now I’m re-reading the Adrien English series to get ready for Dark Tide‘s release tomorrow, and both Saladang and the Paseo are mentioned in various books in the series. We do a lot of our going out that way, but it was a weird coincidence to see both places mentioned in light of our plans.
On a completely different note . . .
I just read an article from the LA Weekly on the m/m genre “phenomena”. I’m a little troubled by its link that m/m=”women’s pron” that the article makes. I mean, there is a definite “turn-on” factor, but it seems very reductive to say that if there is a sexual component to one’s reading, then it must be pron. Sort of like what gets said of the romance genre in general. There are so many great writers that bring more than just the sex to their writing.
Another thing is the sole focus on m/m being a “women’s genre” written by/for women. Undoubtedly, it is a genre where women are, in large part the authors and readers. But, the article ignores the place of male authors (Josh Lanyon and Victor Banis immediately spring to mind) in an effort to make the article’s “by/for women” thrust more accurate. And, the secondary article, a “gay romance sampler” is equally frustrating, given that they are extremely brief snippets that focus only on sexual encounters in the sampled books.
However, there’s some interesting background on the origins of slash fiction and m/m, and interesting interviews with authors Jet Mykles, James Buchanan and Stephanie Vaughan.
Unfortunately, the article’s final comment has my head meeting my desk:
In the same way that a porn video always ends with a money shot, a gay-romance novel always ends with a couple in love, which is possibly the real reason these novels appeal. They speak, however cheesily, to the deepest desires of both body and mind.
Insert eye roll here. This last comment is too reminiscent of the recent HuffPo article to which Smart Bitch Sarah responded so eloquently.
Of course, an HEA is important to a m/m romance reader! Yet, how does that automatically makes it the same as pron? Why that and not the other obviously related genre fiction, mainstream romance? If I can care about the characters, and want to go with them on their journey, isn’t that what any good reading experience is about?
Honestly, to me the best part about this article is the comments section, especially those by Ally Blue and Alex Beecroft. (Just ignore the comments hi-jacking by 1 persistent commenter.)
Big Blue & a question about this blog
Big Blue
So this is my new uninvited guest. “Big Blue” will be a part of my life for approx. 6 weeks. Believe it or not, I only have a very small fracture in one of the bones in my left forearm, but since it’s located at my wrist joint, they had to give me a full arm cast to immobilize my elbow as well. This totally bites.
The only good thing that I can say about this situation is that at least my ankle is only sprained, and seems to be recovering nicely.
Oh! And that I’ve gotten LOTS of reading done. In the last week and a half, I’ve read: Tempt Me at Twilight by Lias Kleypas, Cast in Silence by Michelle Sagara, Mine till Midnight by Lias Kleypas, Set the Dark on Fire by Jill Sorenson, His Convenient Husband by JL Langley, Out of Bounds by TA Chase, Cover Me by LB Gregg, On the Edge by Ilona Andrews, and Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James. Phew!
Of course, I have lots to say about these books, but typing is really slow. So, I’ve been thinking . . .
A Question for You
I can make audio posts with not much more work than a written post would require. The mp3 could be embedded directly into the page with an audio player. Now, I’m not much of a public speaker nor do I have fancy recording equipment, so they definitely wouldn’t be “professional” quality. However, it could be a way I can alleviate some of my posting angst.
What do you think?
The expected and the unexpected . . .
For the reason below, this will be a brief (for me!) post:
The Expected:
I had a WONDERFUL time on Saturday, with my book blogging sisters, cruising the aisles of Borders in Pasadena. It was great to catch up with Lori, Tracy, Wendy, Rosie, Nikki (who left before the picture below was taken),and to finally meet Rowena! After buying a few lovelies: On the Edge by Ilona Andrews, Trick of the Light by Rob Thurman, and The Prince of Frogs by Annaliese Evans, we had lunch and mucho conversation. Favorite topics included plans for Nath’s upcoming visit and anticipated book releases. Lastly, we had more book fun at our parking lot book swap, though as usual, I walked away with more books than I showed up with. (Will power is not my strong suit. 
)
The Unexpected:
On the way to my car this (Monday) morning, I stepped off of a curb wrong, fell, and —long story, short—wound up with a badly sprained (but, luckily not broken) ankle and a fractured wrist. Of course, it had to be my left wrist, since I’m a lefty. As a result, I’m reduced to the 1-handed hunt-and-peck method of typing.
SO, I will be a little scarce this week. I’m going to let my sidebar and other pages be for now (they are already out of date, anyway.) I’ll probably mostly hanging out this week in other blogs’ comments, since a comment box is nice and small.
Today, I finished my September Re-read Challenge book, Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas , but posting my review on time will depend on how sick I’m going to get of typing so s-l-o-w-l-y.
I’m wrapping up Kim Harrison’s Once Dead, Twice Shy, which has been a fun, fast read. Also, today I picked up on impulse, Sarah McCarty’s Running Wild (courtesy of Saturday’s book swap) which is fun, shifter-y goodness. And, I can’t wait to crack open Jill Sorenson’s Set the Dark on Fire, in the next day or two.
While I feel like I’ve been pitched a bit of a curve ball—especially given all the kid taxiing I’ve got to figure out, but at least I’ll have plenty of books to keep me entertained.
People are going to talk…